kscans

Chapter 29 - D-Rank

May was drawing to a close, the air damp from a soft, persistent drizzle.

The quiet patter of rain greeted us as we stepped out of the city hall.

"We finally did it, Kyouta-chan!"

"Yeah."

Standing under the shelter of the entrance, I gazed at the small card in my hand.

`Adventurer License (D): Yagawa Kyouta`

A rather simple piece of identification. Below my name were my address and a few other details, vaguely resembling the driver's license my father had shown me once.

But to think that this was proof I had become a 'pro,' one of the 'elites'… it held a strange gravity.

I probably wouldn't have felt a thing if this had been before my fight with the Orc Champion.

That day, I could have died. I had come face-to-face with a monster that wielded martial arts like a man, a creature that had nearly split my skull open.

The Orc Champion's rank was 'D.' So, I suppose I've finally reached its level.

...If I fought it again, could I win?

Both reason and instinct were confident of victory. But my heart was filled with doubt.

I can still clearly recall the eyes of that champion, burning with intelligence and fighting spirit. The way it stared straight at me, its gaze piercing me long before its spear ever could.

The only reason I managed to step forward that day was because of the rage I felt for my parents' murder. Though, when all was said and done, I came out in one piece thanks to Erina-san.

Faced with the pure 'killing intent' of a monster, an entity capable of ending my life.

Can I truly stand against that?

"Kyouta-chan."

"Gah!"

I instinctively took a step back as Erina-san leaned in to look at my face.

"What's wrong? You look so serious."

"Oh, uh… just a little worried about the future."

"It's too early for that, Kyouta-chan! Your life is just getting started! We've gotta keep fighting until we get dementia!"

"Is that really supposed to be encouraging?"

`Hey! Why are you two just standing there at the entrance? You're gonna make a lady like me wait all day~`

"Ah, sorry, senpai!"

"Our apologies. We're on our way."

A telepathic message came from Aira-san, who had been kind enough to give us a ride.

"Come on, let's go, Kyouta-chan!"

"…Yeah."

I opened my umbrella and walked through the parking lot.

Carefully avoiding the puddles, I made sure not to get my new license wet.

Still without an answer to my earlier question.

＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

And so, we've arrived at the 'D-Rank Dungeon.'

There's no point in moping around, wondering if I can face it. As long as I'm not fighting a boss, I won't die even if I just brute-force my way through, so I might as well give it a try.

If it feels okay, I'll continue as I have been. If not, I'll just have to get used to it. It's not like I'm diving in solo.

With that in mind, I finished my usual preparations and stepped into the dungeon.

Past the gate, my feet landed on a hard stone floor.

My first impression of the surroundings, illuminated by my lantern, was 'the ceiling is high.'

According to the information I got at the store, it was apparently ten meters high. The corridor was wide, too—about the width of a two-lane road.

A floor of stone tiles and walls of stacked blocks. A faint breeze drifted past, carrying with it a musty smell.

"Erina-san, stay sharp, please."

"You got it!"

While she scanned our surroundings, I activated Byakuren. Attaching a penlight and a mirror, I sent it forward.

"Aira-san, is the connection okay?"

`Loud and clear. I can see and hear everything perfectly. Like I said before we went in, don't worry about data collection this time. Just focus on getting used to 'D-Rank.'`

"Right."

"YEAH!"

I have no idea what that response from Erina-san meant. But since she was smiling and pumping her fist, I assumed it meant she understood.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and began the exploration.

I'd heard that the difficulty of dungeons changes drastically from this rank onwards.

First, the structure is different. It's much more three-dimensional.

The walls to my left and right have considerable thickness, but they don't reach the ceiling. In other words, you can climb them.

It's a maze-like layout, but you can walk on top of the walls. However, that's a 'trap.' The staff at the store specifically warned me, 'Absolutely do not climb them.'

Even if the walls are thick, they're only wide enough for one person to walk on. And more importantly, the monsters here…

"Kyouta-chan, I hear the sound of wings."

"Hnngh…"

I tightened my grip on the sword in my right hand and touched the small knife with my left.

"…Two of them. Approaching from the ten o'clock direction."

"Got it."

I glared in the direction she indicated.

There was a wall in front of me, but there was open space above it.

They appeared with a flutter of wings.

"Gii! Gii-ii!"

At first glance, they resembled Goblins.

Large, bulging eyes, a twisted nose, and big ears. The difference, however, was their gray skin.

And the horns growing from the sides of their heads, along with the bat-like wings sprouting from their backs.

Imps.

Lesser demons, but still a significant threat to humans. The high ground in this dungeon is their domain. Carelessly try to climb the walls, and you'll be swarmed and knocked to the floor in an instant.

The two Imps, screeching gratingly, held spears in their right hands and pointed their empty left hands toward us.

Almost simultaneously, a bizarre sound that couldn't be called language.

"Hyaaah!!"

At Erina-san's cry, I threw the knife. It flew alongside a throwing spike, heading toward the Imps above.

Both found their mark, and one of the creatures shrieked as it fell to the floor. Combined with the drop of over five meters, it stopped moving.

But the other one, paying no mind to its fallen comrade, finished its 'incantation.'

"Gya-gya-gya!"

Along with its unpleasant cry, it unleashed an arrow of blue fire. That's right—these things use 'magic.'

They can fly, they're small, and they even use ranged attacks. On top of that, their physical abilities surpass those of Goblins.

They really are a pain in the ass.

[Concept Interference].

Predicting its trajectory with my [Spirit Eye], I met it with my sword. The blade was engulfed in blue flames, and I swung it back at my opponent with all my might.

It seemed my counterattack was unexpected. The Imp couldn't dodge and was hit squarely by its own returned fire. It fell, shrieking and wreathed in flames.

"Gya, gyaah!?"

A throwing spike finished off the creature as it writhed on the floor.

I had been watching the first one out of the corner of my eye; it had already turned to salt. I let out a sigh of relief that we had defeated both of them safely and collected the drop items.

The items from the salt were coins again, but they were larger and slightly more golden than before. I think they're probably mixed with gold. Or maybe it's some unknown metal.

After handing the drops to Erina-san, Aira-san's voice came through.

`Well done, you two. Are you injured?`

"No problem, senpai!"

"I'm fine as well."

`Good. Don't let your guard down from here on.`

"Right."

"Roger that!"

Their individual strength isn't that high, but combined with the terrain, they're troublesome monsters. I can't get complacent.

However, my body moved without any issues. I was tense, but I didn't feel the same way I did when the champion almost killed me.

I can fight at this rank without any problems. …Probably! I still have my doubts, but that's what I told myself.

"Alright."

I muttered under my breath and resumed the exploration.

After walking a short distance, I found a section of the wall that was unnaturally damaged. The surface had been scraped away.

"Is this that thing?"

"Probably so-o."

As she said that, Erina-san took out a blacklight.

Making sure not to let my lantern's light interfere, I looked at the wall. Text appeared next to the scraped-off section.

"Looks like 'B-4,' senpai!"

`Excellent. In that case, according to the map…`

Imps are smart.

It's unclear if they understand our language, but they seem to know that the yellow paint left by the Self-Defense Force serves as a guide for us adventurers.

That's why they go so far as to scrape the walls to hide the paint. Dungeons are truly strange places; when damaged like this, they apparently return to their original state after a while without anyone touching them. A state with nothing written on them.

But if left untouched, the markings remain. So the SDF thought, 'What if we make it invisible to the Imps?' and started writing the map codes in a script that only appears under a blacklight.

By the way, this blacklight was sold at the store. A little surprising, but it was slightly cheaper than the market price.

That's probably how much they want to say, 'You absolutely must take this with you.'

`Right. If you continue straight, you should come to a T-junction. Turn right there.`

"Got it."

"YEAH!"

I wonder if she's taken a liking to that reply.

After that exchange, we started moving again, proceeding slowly. Since the SDF's lights get destroyed just like the walls, our only light sources were the ones we carried.

Moving forward while being wary of ambushes from above was surprisingly taxing on the nerves.

Before I knew it, a drop of sweat trickled down my cheek and dripped from my chin.

"Kyouta-chan. It's good that you're watching above, but keep an eye on what's in front of you and at your feet, too."

"Huh? Oh, right."

Erina-san grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. I lowered my voice to match her whisper.

"Ahead of us, there should be a corner, just like on the map. I can hear faint breathing from there. Three of them."

`Just as Erina-kun says, there's a corner in your path.`

"Understood."

I tightened my grip on my sword and drew a knife with my left hand.

I see. So they lure intruders into focusing on the threat from above, then ambush them on the ground.

As expected, Imps are smart.

But Erina-san is even more reliable.

"I'm sending Byakuren ahead."

"Go for it."

I touched the golem's stone body, resupplying its mana while giving it a whispered command.

With heavy, thudding footsteps, Byakuren advanced. The light from the penlight on its head allowed me to see whether it had rounded the corner, even in the dark.

Besides.

`I see three of them, alright! They're glaring this way! `

Aira-san's telepathy filled me in on the situation.

As I heard the sound of flapping wings, we started running.

Rounding the corner, we found the Imps just as they were leaping up to attack Byakuren, and we managed to catch them by surprise.

The knife and a throwing spike took down one. The remaining two shrieked as they glared at us.

One continued its attack on Byakuren from above, while the other raised its spear to protect its head and chest as it gained altitude.

It's trying to get out of my range.

If I just jumped straight up, I'd risk getting knocked out of the air. I planted my feet on the wall beside me and sprinted upwards, aided by a gust of wind. With that momentum, I ran right up.

In two steps, I reached the top of the wall and leaped. The Imp's eyes widened as it saw me, and I swung my sword in mid-air.

They might be stronger than Goblins, but they're fragile compared to Orcs. I cut it down in a single blow.

As I fell with gravity, I glanced down and saw Erina-san throwing her grappling hook at the one that was trying to latch onto Byakuren.

"Take this!"

"Gye!?"

The Imp shrieked as it was entangled and slammed to the floor, and Byakuren stomped on its back.

Immobilized, the creature had its neck pierced by a ninja sword a moment later.

I released a burst of wind as I landed, slowing my descent before my feet touched the ground. I had practiced wall-running at the training facility, but I was glad it worked out in a real fight.

"You really are… a ninja…!"

"I'm not."

And please stop looking at me like that.

After that, we proceeded smoothly through the dungeon and returned safely after about two hours. And so, my first exploration of a 'D-Rank Dungeon' came to an end.

I was fine, both physically and mentally. It was a good start.